Parking on the Calder Bridge to Ennerdale road, under the shoulder of Blakely Raise we walked north along the road to pic up the bridle way heading NE.
Almost immediately about 25 horses came galloping down the fell side, most were passing behind us but 2 made a deliberate decision to head in our direction. There being no where to go we just stood behind a small clump of reads to see what would happen and they stopped about 6' away from us before they went on their way to join their compatriots. We continued on our way through the first section of plantation to find that the areas on the side of Grike and Crag Fell had been cleared.
Going through the boundary fence we fulled up the short, steep grass side of Grike.
Looking ahead to the next top, Crag Fell
A short down and up and we were on Crag Fell with views down in to Ennerdale
We then had the long, long slog up and over Iron Crag towards Caw Fell, following a substantial dry-stone wall which is being restored.
Coming up on to Caw Fell
Caw Fell summit
We then backtracked over Iron Fell, once again filling our water bottles from its scummy puddle of a tarn. It was an overcast and quite breezy day but still very warm and there were few opportunities to pick up water.
Turning west across Whoap we managed to miss the path which forked for Lank Rigg witnessed by the only 4 other people we saw all day. Correcting our error we headed to the summit.
Lank Rigg
Again a slight back track to the col before we followed Whoap Beck down across some very marshy ground along its deserted valley.
Looking back the way we had come as we headed up Bomery Gill to get back to the road.
Once back at the car we headed south, against more traffic than I would have thought that road would have seen in a month, as the first deluge of what was to become that nights torrential storm started to fall.